“Is that your Texas pride talking, Mr. Forsythe?” she hinted, her tone sounding a little more relaxed.
Grinning, he gave her a quick kiss that left him hungering for more. But he ignored the urge to ravish her right there in the backseat. The day was all about having fun and keeping things light between them.
“Once a Texan, always a Texan,” he finally murmured.
They rode the distance to the River Walk in companionable silence and by the time they reached the quaint outdoor café he’d selected for lunch, a modicum of his control had been restored.
“This is wonderful,” she remarked, looking around. Her eyes were wide with wonder and he was going to enjoy seeing the historic city from her perspective. She pointed to one of the shops down the way. “If we don’t go anywhere else, we have to go in there.”
Holding one of the chairs for her at a table with a bright blue umbrella, he waited until she was seated, then sat down across from her. When he realized she was talking about a trip to the ice cream shop, he smiled. “What’s your favorite flavor?”
“Mint chocolate chip or maybe mocha fudge or chocolate ripple or…”
“I take it you like chocolate.” He’d have to remember that.
Her enthusiastic nod caused her ponytail to bob up and down. “Sometimes I like a couple of different flavored scoops in the same cone. That way I don’t have to choose just one. What’s your favorite?”
“Vanilla.”
She gave him a look that clearly stated she thought he might be a little touched in the head. “You’ve got to be kidding. Of all the wonderful ice cream flavors, you settle for plain old vanilla? Where’s your sense of adventure?”
“I get adventurous once in a while,” he remarked, thinking of something a lot more enjoyable than ice cream. Shifting to relieve the sudden tightness in his trousers, he added, “Sometimes, I have a few of those candy things sprinkled over the top.”
Completely unaware of the direction of his thoughts, she asked, “Aren’t you afraid that’s being just a bit too daring?”
Forcing himself to relax, he grinned. “What can I say, darlin’? I like living on the edge.”
A smiling waiter chose that moment to walk over and place menus in front of them, effectively putting an end to their discussion of ice cream flavors. After giving the man their order, Zach noticed Arielle’s delighted smile at the sight of a boat slowly motoring its way down the river toward them. Reaching across the table, he covered her delicate hand with his. “On our next trip, we’ll take a ride the length of the river.”
She paused, then treated him to a smile so sweet he could tell she was beginning to let down her guard. “I’d really like that, Zach. Thank you for bringing me here. Everything is so colorful and full of life. It’s absolutely wonderful.”
After the waiter brought their food, the rest of the time was spent indulging in some of the best Tex-Mex cuisine in the entire state. Zach watched Arielle polish off the last tortilla chip covered in queso from the sampler platter then motioned for their check.
“Why don’t we get your ice cream, then walk over to El Mercado before we take a carriage ride,” he suggested, handing the waiter his credit card. He needed to get her over to the market as soon as possible.
“I’m absolutely stuffed right now,” she remarked, resting her hand on her stomach. “Maybe we’d better get the ice cream after everything else.”
Once the waiter returned, Zach added a generous tip to the bill, then signed the receipt, slipped his credit card back into his wallet and stood up to hold Arielle’s chair. “Are there any other shops you’d like to visit after we walk over to El Mercado?”
“I can’t think of any,” she indicated, shaking her head. “Just the ice cream shop will make me happy.”
She placed her hand in his and in no time they’d made the short walk to the open-air market where the first part of his plan was about to come together.
“I’d like to buy you something to remember today, Arielle. What about something like this?” he asked, stopping in front of a vendor with an array of silver jewelry. He picked up a finely crafted filigree band with a beautiful solitaire setting. “This ring is nice.”
Smiling, she nodded. “I love it. It’s gorgeous. But you don’t have to—”
He placed his index finger to her perfect lips. “I want to.”
“It is made of the finest silver and crystal,” the vendor lied right on cue.
Zach checked the attached tag, then gave his old friend, Juan Gomez, owner and master designer of one of the finest jewelry stores in Dallas, a conspiratorial wink. “What size do you wear, Arielle?”
“Five, but—”
“It will have to be resized, but that shouldn’t be a problem.” Turning to Juan, he retrieved his wallet from the hip pocket of his khaki pants. “We’ll take it. And if you can have it sized by the time we return from our carriage ride, I’ll pay double the asking price.”
“Si, senor,” Juan confirmed, nodding happily.
“Zach, you can’t do that.” Her eyes were wide with disbelief—and he didn’t think he’d ever seen her look more desirable.
“I most certainly can and will,” he declared, giving his old friend several hundred dollars in order to make the transaction believable. He checked his watch, then placed his hand on the small of Arielle’s back to usher her along before she realized what was going on. “We’ll be back in about an hour. You’ll get the rest of your money when the ring is ready.”
His plan had worked like a charm and Arielle didn’t suspect a thing. She had no way of knowing that the band was actually white gold and that the solitaire wasn’t a crystal, but a white diamond of the finest clarity. Nor did she suspect that when they returned, the “vendor” would be packed up and long gone. Juan would be well on his way back to Dallas to size her one-of-a-kind wedding ring and Zach could check off one more item on his list of things to do before their weekend wedding.
Chapter Seven
“I still can’t believe that vendor took off with your money and the ring,” Arielle complained, shaking her head.
When they’d returned for the ring that afternoon, there had been an empty space in the open-air market where the man and his display of jewelry had once been. And even though several hours had passed since they’d returned to Dallas, changed clothes, had a wonderful dinner at an exclusive restaurant and were now on their way to the first resort Zach had built, she was still fuming.